Case Study: Development of a Sustainable Product Life cycle in Manufacturing Firms

Abstract

This chapter gives a case study for integrating Design for Environment (DfE) and Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) techniques both into new product development and into the process of redesigning a set of existing products. The case study explains the reasons for developing DfE in general, and pays particular attention to a specific, chosen product, a class of electrical distribution boards, to illustrate the concept. The main process steps in the development of the DfE are outlined, and the development of a LCA that satisfies the requirements of the ISO 14040 standard is illustrated. This work was developed thanks to the collaboration between the Sustainability Affairs Department of ABB Italia and the Department of Energy Studies of Marche Polytechnic University. The aim of the firm was to create a procedure based on the integration of DfE and LCA methodologies to allow the assessment of improvement, in terms of environmental and economic impact, which could be attributed to a different assembly layout for the “electrical distribution boards” set of products.

About this chapter

Cite this chapter as:

Bevilacqua M., Ciarapica F.E., Giacchetta G. (2012) Case Study: Development of a Sustainable Product Life cycle in Manufacturing Firms. In: Design for Environment as a Tool for the Development of a Sustainable Supply Chain. Springer, London